Visual artist anticipates challenges of college

Friday

Jun 14, 2013 at 4:12 PM

Jordan Sierra won't brag about her achievements. Then again, you don't have to when they speak for themselves.

BY NASH DUNNThe Dispatch

This is the last in a series of 14 stories profiling a student from Davidson County's public, private and home schools.Jordan Sierra won't brag about her achievements. Then again, you don't have to when they speak for themselves.Because in reality, not many high school graduates can say they never made less than an A, were president of the school's National Art Honors Society and the photography club, became nearly fluent in the Spanish language and played in the school's wind ensemble.Sierra, who will graduate from Central Davidson High School on Saturday, said high school was good. Now, she's ready for the next stage."I'm ready to move on and go to college," Sierra said. "High school was long, but I learned a lot about myself. Sometimes it was challenging, and other times, it was not."Sierra, who received the school's Presidential Award and graduated summa cum laude, finished in the top 10 of her class.She said she has a passion for the visual arts."I'm into a little bit of everything," she said, adding that she's been incorporated in several of the Central Davidson art shows throughout her tenure at the school.Sierra plans to attend Appalachian State University next year. While she originally planned to study graphic design, she now has a tentative plan to major in international business and obtain her minor in Japanese. However, Sierra said she's not 100 percent sure what area she wants to explore academically."I'm going to experiment with what I want to study at Appalachian," she said.Sierra said she gained an interest in foreign languages after taking several years of Spanish at Central Davidson. She said she also became interested in business after taking an Advanced Placement government class."I want a challenging career," she said.No matter what she pursues in the future, though, the visual arts will always be part of her life, and Sierra said she hopes to continue graphic arts on the side.The native of south Florida moved to the area when she was in the fifth grade. She attended Central Davidson Middle School.While she said she enjoyed the friends and teachers she met in high school, she admitted that the atmosphere at her school can be competitive to say the least."It's pretty competitive, and some people I know take five Advanced Placement courses in one semester," she said. "I took three Advanced Placement courses and one advanced Spanish in one semester, and that was hard enough."Nash Dunn can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 227, or at nash.dunn@the-dispatch.com.